We have enjoyed amazing meals in our dahabiya.

Breakfast starts with coffee (made in a French Press), fresh fruit (usually slices of a small honeydew); OJ and coffee. Eggs are made to order alongside toast, crepes and cheese. Each day we have enjoyed a delicious guava jam.

Lunch is elaborate -sometimes starting with soup (onion, vegetable, pasta) and always hummus and bread. Although this is a meal itself, it’s followed by fish or meat (minced lamb, beef or chicken), cooked vegetables, rice, cucumber and tomato salad, or maybe a stew. French fries are served for lunch every day.

We have enjoyed lots of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower, okra and onion.

Desert is fruit- banana, plum, grapes, watermelon. Yesterday a huge bowl of mango and honeydew sorbet was brought out- beautiful! But it had to be eaten quickly (which was no problem) – it was delicious in the 110 degree day.

Dinner is also delicious and welcomed even on days when activity has been minimal. Absorbing all this heat must consume calories! Again- more vegetables and rice; meat (last night was roast beef; the night before, duck); soup; and some sweet for desert. Pre-cruise, dinners consisted of mixed grill and kebabs. I had sea bass one night which was good.

After an excursion or mid-morning and mid-afternoon we are offered mint tea (served hot)- very good; lime juice with mint (refreshing); hibiscus tea (nice). All the other usual candidates are available- bottled water, coke, sprite, wine, beer, coffee and tea. Afternoons also bring bread sticks which are an interesting sweet/savory mix and cookies- mainly with fig.

Our meals are family style with the other 8 people onboard. It has been enjoyable getting to know them; we have talked travel; sports; pickleball; many topics.

Today we went off the boat for the afternoon. The chef prepared “to go” boxes for us – fish, rice and tomato salad. It travelled pretty well! We visited the Temple of Philae in Aswan. While we were in the outdoors cafe having a cold drink, a group of workers from the site were having lunch which consisted of a block of “white” cheese (think blocks of Kraft cream cheese), bread and a huge plate of watermelon. Fries on the side, of course. Sherif, our wonderful guide, explained this is a typical lunch. In the extreme heat of the summer, he said that this would make a nice, light evening meal.

Bon appetit!